Monthly Archives: January 2013

99:6 that Day mankind will proceed In scattered groups that they may be shown their deeds.
Yaumaidzin – When Allah uses thus word, it is usually to indicate that a warning is coming concerning the big day.

Yasduru – comes from the word صدر. What does the word mean?
Here it means to move forward.

Ashtatan – to be broken. In this context means to be divided into groups.

That Day mankind will proceed in scattered groups (Ashtat) meaning, they will be divided into types and categories. What kind of group will there be? Subhanallah, only Allah knows best. Perhaps a group of disbelievers, the righteous among the believers, the sinners among the believers, the shuhada. We ask Allah that he will resurrect us in the best manner and we ask Allah to make the day we meet Him as the best day in our life.

It is translated here to mean – to be shown.

Lam with kasrah is a preposition which means for or so.

The word يروا has the original root word رأى which means “see”

You may have seen it in different forms in other surah such as

Al Maun 107: 1أَرَءَيۡتَ ٱلَّذِى يُكَذِّبُ بِٱلدِّينِhave You seen Him who denies the Recompense?

And surah Al Feel 105: 1
أَلَمۡ تَرَ كَيۡفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصۡحَـٰبِ ٱلۡفِيلِ
1. have You (O Muhammad (Sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe Wa Sallam)) not seen How Your Lord dealt with the owners of the Elephant? [the elephant army which came from Yemen under the command of Abrahah Al-Ashram intending to destroy the Ka’bah at Makkah].

But in surah Al Zalzalah, it is written as yurau and not yarau. When its written as YUrau that is with dommah on the letter “ya (ي)”, this means this is a passive verb. Which means instead of the doer is seeing it on his own accord, he is actually being shown to.

The letter و at the end of the letter indicates that this is a plural form. Meaning the groups of people that will be shown their deeds.

And what is it that he is being shown about?
A’maluhum

This word can be broken into two
أعمال – this is the plural for عمل which means deed.
هم – their

Thus, we understand that, “On that day, the mankind will move forward, will be divided into groups and they will be shown their deeds.”

VERSE 7

99: 7 . so Whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it

Thus, none knows which deed is acceptable to Exalted Allah. It is not the price, volume, size or count of the deed, but it is its weight based on sincerity that matters in the sight of Allaah. Deeds large in number but devoid of sincerity have no value. On the other hand, deeds small in number but based on sincerity are more weighty and valuable in the sight of Exalted Allaah.

It is important for us to know that there are no deeds that are too little or insignificant in the eyes of Allah. Surely we have heard of this hadith

“Do not belittle any good deed, even your meeting with your Muslim brother with a cheerful face.” [Muslim]

A smile as easy as it is, is a deed by itself.

It is also recorded in the Sahih that the Prophet said

O party of believing women! None of you should belittle a gift sent by your neighbor, even if it is a Firsan of a sheep. The word Firsan in this Hadith means its hoof.

In another Hadith he said,

Give something to the beggar, even if it is a burnt hoof.

Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said,“There are two phrases that are light on the tongue but heavy on the scale of rewards and are dear to (Allah) the Gracious One. These are, subhanallah wa bi-hamdihi (All Glory is to Allah and all Praise to Him), and subhanallah al-azim (Glorified is Allah, the Great).” (Muslim, Bukhari, and Tirmidhi)

Making dzikir is certainly easy. But easy doesn’t mean the reward is little. In fact it is to the contrary.

You will never know when a good deed that is being done with full sincerity is counted as the biggest reward in Allah’s sight. It could be that deed, is the one that puts you to jannah.

Wouldn’t it be nice, to find on judgment day, in our book of records, our deeds which we overlooked because it was so little became the most profitable that day? Remember our manners.
Remove harmful things on people’s path.
Feed hungry strays when you can.
Help people in different ways.

Can you think of other deeds you can do?

VERSE 8

99: 8 and Whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it.
Imam Ahmad recorded from `Awf bin Al-Harith bin At-Tufayl that `A’ishah told him that the Prophet used to say,O `A’ishah! Beware of the sins that are belittled, for indeed they will be taken account of by Allah. This Hadith was recorded by An-Nasa’i and Ibn Majah.

Imam Ahmad recorded from `Abdullah bin Mas`ud that the Messenger of Allah said,Beware of the sins that are belittled. For verily, they are gathered in a man until they destroy him. And indeed the Messenger of Allah made an example of them (sins that are taken lightly) by saying that they are like a people who settle in barren land. Then their leader comes and orders the men to go out one at a time and each bring back a stick until they have gathered a large number of sticks. Then they kindled a fire and burned everything that they threw into it.

Never think that any sin is little, for this is an opening for Shaytan to come in and further make sins seem insignificant.

Yarahu – he sees it
This mean, that everyone will be shown their deeds by

i. The showing of their records
Surah Al- Haqqah, 69: 19 & 25;19. then He that will be given His record In His right hand will say: “Ah here! read ye My Record!

25. and He that will be given His record In His left hand, will say: “Ah! would that My record had not been given to me!

Surah Al-Inshiqaq, 84: 7 & 107. then He who is given His record In His right hand,10. but He who is given His record behind His back,-

ii. In this surah, it was mentioned that the earth will inform what happen to her

It is also worth to note here, that Allah is Ar Rahman, Ar Rahim and Most forgiving. Strive now that Allah will overlook your sins and pardon it. Make repentance for sins you know and also sins that you do not know. Take steps now so Allah will pardon you in yaumul akhirah

An Nisa 4: 31

31. if You avoid the great sins which You are forbidden to do, we shall remit from You Your (small) sins, and admit You to a Noble Entrance (i.e. Paradise).

Najm 53: 32.those who avoid great sins (See the Qur’ân, Verses: 6:152,153) and Al-Fawâhish (illegal sexual intercourse, etc.) except the small faults, Verily, Your Lord is of Vast Forgiveness. He knows You well when He created You from the earth (Adam), and when You were fetuses In Your mothers’ wombs. so ascribe not purity to yourselves. He knows best Him who fears Allâh and keep his duty to Him [i.e. those who are Al-Muttaqûn (pious – see V.2:2)].

Allah has also said in the quran that the righteous believers will have an easy reckoning

Al Ankabut 29: 77. those who believe [in the Oneness of Allâh (Monotheism) and In Messenger Muhammad Sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe Wa Sallam , and do not apostate because of the harm they receive from the polytheists], and do righteous good deeds, surely, we shall remit from them their evil deeds and shall reward them according to the best of that which they used to do.

Az Zumar 39: 3535. so that Allâh may remit from them the evil of what they did and give them the Reward, according to the best of what they used to do.

Al Ahqaf 46:15-16
15. and we have enjoined on man to be dutiful and kind to his parents. his mother bears Him with hardship and she brings Him forth with hardship, and the bearing of him, and the weaning of Him is thirty (30) months, till when He attains full strength and reaches forty years, He says: “My Lord! grant Me the power and ability that I may be grateful for Your Favour which You have bestowed upon Me and upon My parents, and that I may do righteous good deeds, such as please you, and make My off-spring good. Truly, I have turned to You In repentance, and Truly, I am one of the Muslims (submitting to Your Will).”
16. they are those from whom we shall Accept the best of their deeds and overlook their evil deeds. (They shall be) among the dwellers of Paradise, a Promise of truth, which they have been promised.

Al Inshiqaq 84:7-87. then, as for Him who will be given his record In his Right hand,8. He surely will receive an easy Reckoning,

Also a hadithAnas says that once Abu Bakr Siddiq was having his meals with the Prophet (peace be upon him). In the meantime this verse was revealed. Abu Bakr withdrew his hand from food and said: O Messenger (peace be upon him) of Allah, shall I see the result of every little evil that I have happened to commit? The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: O Abu Bakr, whatever unpleasant and troublesome things you experience in the world, will compensate for the little evils that you happened to commit, and Allah is reserving every little good that you do for your Hereafter, (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Tabarani in Al-Ausat, Baihaqi in Ash-Shuab. Ibn al-Mundhir, Hakim, Ibn Marduyah, Abd bin Humaid).

However, this verse warns man of a truth of vital importance which is this: Even a most ordinary good has its own weight and its own value, and the same is also true of evil: even a most ordinary evil will also be considered and taken into account; it will not just be overlooked. Therefore, no good act, however small and insignificant, should be left, undone, for many such good acts can collect and be regarded as a major good act in the reckoning with Allah. Likewise, even a most ordinary evil also should not be committed, for a large number of such ordinary errors can become serious sins.

The same thing has been described by the Prophet (peace be upon him) in several Ahadith. According to a tradition related in Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Adi bin Hatim, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

Save yourselves from the fire of Hell even if it be by giving away a pit of a date, or by uttering a good word.

Lessons from this surah:
1. The greatest of all earthquakes will occur in the day of resurrection.
2. Allah will make the earth spills out her contenton that day. The scholars have translated this to mean, all the deads that are used to be buried will be taken out, the treasures that were in it and so forth.
3. Be aware that Allah will make the earth to speak and inform of what were did to her.
4. We will be shown all our deeds, be it good or bad, even how small the deed is.
5. This verse then contains strong encouragement towards performing good, even if it be little, and discouragement from working evil even if it seem paltry.

When the earth is shaken with its (final) earthquake. (1) And when the earth throws out its burdens, (2) And man will say: “What is the matter with it?” (3) That Day it will declare its information (about all that happened over it of good or evil). (4) Because your Lord will inspire it. (5) That Day mankind will proceed in scattered groups that they may be shown their deeds. (6) So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it. (7) And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it. (8)

Verse 2

99: 2. and when the earth throws out its burdens,

And when the earth throws out its burdens meaning, it will throw forth that which is in it of the dead. More than one of the Salaf have said this.

Allah said in Surah al Inshiqaq 84: 4

3. and when the earth is stretched forth,

4. and has cast out All that was In it and became empty,

Muslim recorded in his Sahih from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah said,The earth will throw out the pieces of its liver (its contents). Gold and silver will come out like columns. A murderer will come and say, `I killed for this’ The one who broke the ties of kinship will say, `For this I severed the ties of kinship’ The thief will say, `For this I got my hands amputated’ Then they will leave it there and no one will take anything from it.

Some scholars mention that the burdens that will be taken out of the earth are the dead and the treasure it has in it. Allah knows best.

VERSE 3

99: 3 and man will say: “What is the matter with it?”

From Tafseer Ibn Kathir

And man will say: “What is the matter with it” meaning, he will be baffled by its situation after it used to be stable, settled and firm, and he used to be settled upon its surface.

This refers to the alteration of the state of things and the earth moving and shaking. There will come to it inescapable quaking that Allah prepared for it. Then it will throw out its dead people – from the first to the last generations. At that time the people will be baffled by the events and the earth changing into other than the earth, and the heavens as well. Then they will be presented before Allah, the One, the Irresistible.

Man here may as well imply every man, for after resurrection and coming to senses the first impression of every man will be as to what was happening around him; afterwards he will realize that it was the Resurrection Day.

Man may also imply the man who denies the Hereafter, for what he regarded as impossible would be happening in front of him and causing him confusion and bewilderment.

As for the believers, they will not be bewildered and confused, for everything would be taking place according to their belief and conviction.

Yassin 36: 52.

they will say: “Woe to us! who has raised us up from Our place of sleep.” (it will be said to them): “This is what the Most Beneficent (Allâh) had promised, and the Messengers spoke truth!”

VERSE 4

99: 4 that Day it will declare its information (about All what happened over it of good or evil).

That Day it will declare its information meaning, it will speak of what the people did upon its surface.

Imam Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi and Abu `Abdur-Rahman An-Nasa’i all recorded a Hadith from Abu Hurayrah – and in the wording of An-Nasa’i’s version it states — that he said,“The Messenger of Allah recited this Ayah, (That Day it will declare its information.) Then he said, (Do you know what is its information), “They said, `Allah and His Messenger know best.’ He said, (Verily, its information is that it will testify against every male and female servant, about what they did upon its surface. It will say that he did such and such on such and such day. So this is its information.)” Then At-Tirmidhi said, “This Hadith is Sahih Gharib.”

It might have been difficult for a man of ancient times to understand how the earth will speak and narrate the information and events happening on it on the Resurrection Day, but in the present age of scientific discoveries and the inventions of cinema, loudspeaker, radio, television, tape-recorder, electronic equipment, etc., it is no longer difficult to understand how the earth will narrate the information. The impression of whatever man speaks is preserved in the air, in the radio waves, on the particles of the walls and floors and ceilings of the houses, and on the environments of the road, plain or field if he spoke outside the house. If Allah so wills He can make these things repeat all these voices precisely in the way these were uttered in the first instance by man. Man at that time will hear with his ears and know that it was his own voice, and all his acquaintances will also testify that whatever they were hearing was the person’s own voice and his own accent. Then whatever man has done anywhere on the earth, and in whatever state, has had its impression on everything of the environment and its image inscribed on it. Even if he did something in pitch dark, there are such rays in the Kingdom of God for which darkness and light make no difference; they can preserve his image in any case. All these images will pass before man on the Resurrection Day like a motion picture, and will show him when and where he had done something during his life on the earth.

The fact is that although Allah directly knows whatever a man does, yet in the Hereafter when He will establish His court, He will punish every culprit only after fulfilling all the demands of justice. Any case which is brought before His court against a criminal will be proved with such perfect evidence that no room will be left to doubt his being a criminal.

The first and foremost evidence against him is the record in which the two recording angels are recording his each word and deed.

Infitar 82: 10-12

10. but Verily, over You (are appointed angels In charge of mankind) to watch you,11. Kirâman (honourable) Kâtibîn writing down (your deeds),12. they know All that You do.

This record will be handed over to him and he will be asked to read it. Reading it man will be bewildered, for “it has left nothing un-recorded of our deeds, small or great.” (Surah Al-Kahf, Ayat 49)

49. and the Book (one’s Record) will be placed (in the Right Hand for a believer In the Oneness of Allâh, and In the left Hand for a disbeliever In the Oneness of Allâh), and You will see the Mujrimûn (criminals, polytheists, sinners, etc.), fearful of that which is (recorded) therein. they will say: “Woe to us! what sort of Book is This that leaves neither a small thing nor a big thing, but has recorded it with numbers!” and they will find All that they did, placed before them, and Your Lord treats no one with injustice.

Then there is man’s own body which he had used in the world. In Allah’s court his own tongue will bear witness as to what he had been speaking through it in the world, his own hands and feet will bear witness as to what deeds he had committed through them (Surah An-Noor, 24: 24).

24. on the Day when their tongues, their hands, and their legs or feet will bear witness against them as to what they used to do.

His eyes and his ears will bear witness as to what he saw and heard by their means. Even the skin of his body will bear witness to his deeds. Bewildered, he will ask his limbs: Why have you borne witness against me? They will reply: The same God Who has given speech to everything has given us speech.Al Fussilat, 32: 20- 22.

20. till, when they reach it (Hell-fire), their hearing (ears) and their eyes, and their skins will testify against them as to what they used to do.21. and they will Say to their skins, “Why do You testify against us?” they will say: “Allâh has caused us to speak, as He causes All things to speak, and He created You the first time, and to Him You are made to return.”22. and You have not been hiding against yourselves, lest Your ears, and Your eyes, and Your skins testify against you, but You thought that Allâh knew not much of what You were doing.

On top of these, there will be the witnesses which will be presented from the earth and all its environments, in which man will hear his own voice by his own ears and see the exact pictures of his own deeds by his eyes. Furthermore, the ideas, motives and aims hidden in the heart of man and the intentions with which he had performed every deed will be brought out and placed before him as is stated in Surah Al-Adiyat 100: 10.

And that which is in the breasts (of men) is made known? (10)

That is why with the production of such absolute, clear and undeniable proofs, man will be confounded and he will be left with no chance to say anything in self-defense to excuse himself. (Surah Al-Mursalat 77: 35-36).

35. that will be a Day when they shall not speak (during some part of it),36. and they will not be permitted to put forth any excuse.

May the best day for us is the day we will meet Allah.

VERSE 5

99: 5 because Your Lord has inspired it.

From Ibn Kathir

It is apparent that the implied meaning here is that Allah will permit it (the earth)
her to relate what was done on her surface. Looking at the earth, we may leave to wonder what earth will tell.

Would it be wonderful if she would mention to Allah that we make remembrance of Allah as we roam the earth or that we cultivate the land and did not destroy it.

أوحى comes from the word وحي (Wahyu).

Translated loosely as inspiration. Awha ( أَوْحَىٰ ) – usually refers to wisdom/knowledge/ signs which is inspired or knowledge is being hinted.

and we inspired the mother of Mûsa (Moses), (saying): “Suckle Him [Mûsa (Moses)], but when You fear for him, Then cast Him into the river and fear not, nor grieve. Verily! we shall bring Him back to you, and shall make Him one of (Our) Messengers.”

There is another word for inspiration which is ilham. Wahyu refers to hinted knowledge while ilham refers to action which is inspired.

Ash Shams 91: 8

فَأَلۡهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقۡوَٮٰهَاThen He showed Him what is wrong for Him and what is right for him.

Another type of inspiration that refers to Shaytan’s evil plot.

The word Hamazaat in al Muminun 23:97

وَقُل رّبّ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ هَمَزَاتِ الشّيَاطِينِ And say: “My Lord! I seek refuge with You from the whisperings (suggestions/incitements) of the Shayatin (devils).

By saying idhaa ( إِذَا ), Allah has made Judgement Day a reality because He is saying ‘When it happens (for sure in the future)’.

أرض – the earth

Allah informs us about what will happen on the Day of Rising, “When the earth is violently shaken,” convulsing and rocking “with its (final) quake,” flattening all buildings and edifices, the mountains crumble and fall, and the hills are flattened. The earth’s surface becomes like a barren, level plain on which you see neither dip nor gradient.

Taha 20: 105-107

105. and they ask You concerning the mountains, say; “My Lord will blast them and scatter them as particles of dust.

106. “Then He shall leave it as a level smooth plain.

107. “You will see therein nothing crooked or curved.”

We see earthquake and observe the disaster it causes. Earthquake destroys lives and properties and may collapse the entire city physically and economically. But none of the earthquake we see now will match the final earthquake that will come. And this is Al Zalzalah.

Earthquake

An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the earth called tectonic plate suddenly slip past one another. The surface where they slip is called the fault or fault plane.

This movement tears apart the surface of the Earth, or crunches it up. Earthquakes are the breaking and cracking of the rocks inside the continental plates. The breaks happen after stress has built up in the surrounding area. There are usually very few or no quakes when the plates move slowly. Most often, this just means a little shaking for a few seconds, and nothing very serious happens.

When there is a fast movement of the plate, there is a snap. Several times a year, though, somewhere in the world there is enough movement to really shake the earth a lot, and the earthquake is serious enough to knock down buildings. When the buildings fall on people, many people can be killed in a few minutes.

The Richter Scale

The Richter scale rates earthquakes. If an earthquake is rated 1, you can hardly feel it, but an earthquake rated 2 is ten times as strong as an earthquake rated 1, and an earthquake rated 3 is ten times as strong as an earthquake rated 2. Only a few people feel a level 1 earthquake. In a level 2 earthquake, a few people who are resting may feel it, especially if they’re near the top of a tall building. Nearly everyone will feel a level 5 earthquake, and some dishes and windows will break. At level 6, heavy furniture moves around, and many people will feel frightened, but there’s not really much damage. In a level 8 earthquake, many buildings will fall down. 9 and 10 is truly a disaster.

Because most of the Earth is covered by oceans, earthquakes often happen in the ocean. Usually this just shakes the water and people don’t notice. But sometimes the water pulls all together into a huge wave called a tsunami.

Landscape Change

More than buildings collapse when an earthquake hits. The land itself is totally changed. You can see scars across the landscape. Those scars appear when one block of land has moved compared to another. Roads often change their placement. They either become uneven or just crack. Streams can also change course. Sometimes rocks can fall and block the stream. Other times, the land is even lowered in certain areas. When it’s lower, it’s easier for the water to flow in the new direction.

Changes also happen on larger scales. Fault valleys and troughs can be created. These areas have large amounts of fracturing (the fracture zone is large). After the land has opened up, weather begins to act on the area and erosion follows. Slowly, new valleys are created.

The crack happens where the quake starts. Ripples then move out in waves across the plate. Those waves are called seismic waves. Those waves shake everyone up within a specific area. When scientists analyze an earthquake they look at several parts. They find out where the focus is. The focus is the exact point where the earthquake started. It is usually many miles/kilometers below the surface of the Earth. Scientists also look to see where the epicenter was. The epicenter is the point on the surface directly above the focus. When you think about the epicenter, try to remember there is actually a crack in the crust many kilometers below.

Some of the World’s Largest Earthquakes

Tangshan, China: July 27, 1976 (Magnitude: About 7.5)

A devastating earthquake occurred in eastern China, about 100 miles from Beijing in a coal-mining area where thousands of people worked underground day and night. In the densely populated town of Tangshan, buildings were constructed with heavy masonry but with no special precautions to withstand earthquake shaking. About 240,000 people died.

Bam, Iran Earthquake of 2003

Bam (Persian: بم‎) is a city in and the capital of Bam County, Kerman Province, Iran. The 2003 Bam earthquake was a major earthquake that struck Bam and the surrounding Kerman province of southeastern Iran, The death toll in this tremor reached over 26,000.

Sumatra, Indonesia, Dec. 26, 2004. (Magnitude: About 9.0)

A 9.0 magnitude earthquake — the largest earthquake in 40 years — caused a powerful tsunami in the Indian Ocean that devastated 12 Asian countries. The earthquake’s epicenter was off the west coast of the Indonesian Island of Sumatra. A week later the death toll was estimated at 150,000 — a month later some estimate double that number. Hardest hit were Indonesia (particularly the province of Aceh), Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, and the Maldives. Millions of people lost their homes.

Japan earthquake 2011

A series of earthquakes, followed by an 8.9-magnitude quake and a devastating tsunami caused much loss of life and property in Japan. Entire areas were laid to waste as the 10-feet-high tsunami waves washed over the area.

Following this, a tsunami warning was issued to as many as 50 countries lying in the line of influence of this earthquake. It could be disastrous for the small pacific islands, which could simply drown and get wiped off the map.

Tectonic Plate

Basically, the theory of plate tectonics is that the earth is made up of plates instead of one solid shell. These plates move past each other in four different ways creating mountains, valleys, volcanoes, and other geological features. These four ways of movement past other plates are convergent subduction, convergent collision, transform (sometimes called strike and slip), and divergent.

Convergent subduction is when the plates head towards each other and one plate goes under the other plate. Anchorage, Alaska is near a convergent subduction boundary

Convergent collision is when the plates head towards each other and they crash into each other forcing the land upward. Beijing, China which is near a convergent collision boundary.

Transform boundaries are when the plates slide/grind against each other in a sideways motion along transform faults. As the two plates slide past each other, in a transform boundary, neither plate is added to the boundary, and also neither plate is destroyed. Instead, when these two plates are sliding past each other, massive amounts of energy are built up and eventually this energy must be released. So, the energy is released through earthquakes.

Turkey is on top of a transform boundary. In Turkey, there is the North Anatolian (transform) Fault. The North Anatolian Fault causes lots of earthquakes and is one of the most active faults in the world. Turkey is on a minor plate that is being squeezed westward because the Arabian plate and the Eurasian plate are moving together. The North Anatolian Fault is along the transform boundary between the Eurasian plate and the Anatolian plate and it covers most of Turkey. Turkey is near where the Anatolian plate (Turkey is actually right on part of the Anatolian plate and actually Turkey is part of Anatolia), the Arabian plate, the Eurasian plate, and the African plate all meet which can cause a lot of disruption and earthquakes,

San Diego, California is also a transform boundary. The San Andreas Fault is one of the most famous transform faults and it is also one of the most active. The Pacific plate is moving northwest and lies to the west of the San Andreas Fault and the North American plate lies to the east of the fault. The two plates slide and grind past each other creating much tension. This tension and built up energy is released through minor and major earthquakes and tremors. The San Andreas Fault is over 1,000 miles long.

Divergent is when the plates move away from each other. Reykjavik, Iceland is a divergent boundary. Iceland is one of the few places where a divergent boundary is above sea level. Most divergent boundaries are in the sea and cause volcanic material to be brought to the surface and then it forms a new ocean floor. However, in Iceland, there is a divergent boundary between the North American plate and the Eurasian plate. They are moving away from each other at a rate of about 2 centimeters every year. This causes volcanic material to be brought to the surface in Iceland. There was so much volcanic material being brought to the surface at one point that an island was created/formed (Iceland). So, because of this divergent boundary, Iceland actually has a lot of volcanoes (for example the Eldfell Volcano). On April 14, 2010, the Eyjaföll volcano in Iceland exploded and caused a huge cloud of ash to travel across the UK causing widespread disruption. Iceland also has lots of earthquakes because of this divergent boundary